Cross-country eliminator

The Cross-country eliminator (XCE) is a new mountain bike race format in which four riders compete against each other in each heat, similar to Four-cross. The two fastest riders get to the next round while the two slower riders are eliminated from the race.

The format differs from the classic cross-country race both in its sprint character and the separation of the race into heats. The 500m - 1000m short track itself is similar to XC tracks, going both uphill and downhill.[1]

History /Events

First introduced successfully in 2010 in the Germany, the Eliminator Race was tested in two UCI events: in Pickering (as part of the world cup in Dalby Forest) (UK) and Nove Mesto na Morave (CZE) in 2011. It was officially integrated into the World Cup in 2012 with three events in Houffalize (BEL), Nove Mesto na Morave (CZE) and La Bresse (FRA).

The first Eliminator World Cup race took place on April 13, 2012 in Houffalize, Belgium and was won by Brian Lopes (USA), and Annie Last (UK).[2]

The first World Championship was held on September 9, 2012 in Saalfelden, Austria.[3]Ralph Naef was the first world champion in 2012 in Saalfelden. In 2013 in Pietermaritzburg it was Paul Van Der Ploeg who became world champion. Fabrice Mels took the world championshiptitle in 2014 in Lillehammer.

References

1. http://www.uci.ch/Modules/BUILTIN/getObject.asp?MenuId=MTkzNg&ObjTypeCode=FILE&type=FILE&id=34424&LangId=1 Archived 2012-05-16 at the Wayback Machine UCI Rules part 4.2.010
2. http://www.uci.ch/Modules/ENews/ENewsDetails2011.asp?id=ODA5OQ&MenuId=MTYzMDQ&LangId=1&BackLink=%2Ftemplates%2FUCI%2FUCI8%2Flayout.asp%3FMenuId%3DMTYzMDQ%26LangId%3D1 Official UCI news bulletin
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 17, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) First Eliminator UCI World Championship

Further reading

• Dirt Magazine Article on the Eliminator race format
• Cyclingnews: Brian Lopes on the Eliminator race format